Avatar: Nexus
by Ryuuachi
Summary: There is a balance that is maintained by the elements in order to achieve a state of neutrality between them, a nexus; the balance greater than neutrality. Rarely is a nexus achieved, and rarely do worlds ever touch more than twice...once is enough...AU
1. The Nexus

Avatar: Nexus

Chapter 1: The Nexus

Preview: Aang, Katara, and Sokka head to the next city after leaving the swamp. In the spirit world, Avatar Roku senses a strange alignment in the elements, departing from the Avatar's individual realm to seek out the source of the abnormality, and makes a discovery of the other world kind...

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar:The Last Airbender, nor do I own a Dragon which frankly, friggin' bites. I own my OCs and I own the Nexus idea, or at least I hope I do, and would kindly request that permission be asked before another author uses it. If someone already came up with the Nexus idea before me, *shrugs* oh well, great minds think alike.

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_Wan Shi Tong's library, a vast warehouse of knowledge spanning centuries and centuries of history and learning…Inventions and blueprints rested on the shelves amongst scrolls of bending forms and techniques as well as recipes and story books. In one of the far corners of this gigantic library, is a strange yet magnificent sight to behold. Four large statues stand around a single tile in a ring; a large badgermole, a large moon, a large dragon holding a sun in its mouth, and a large sky bison. Wan Shi Tong made sure that no one ever found the ring of statues or the tomes which speak of the strange formation. The four elements together create a perfect balance, a nexus from which all life came from and where worlds can sometimes connect._

_One day, the spirits of the elements awakened suddenly, and each one began to softly glow. The awakening of the Avatar had caused the ancient statues to awaken from the sudden burst in spiritual energy that had earlier reached them. As one being, the ancient statues began to pool their respective elemental essence into the small tile to form the nexus. In the spirit world, Avatar Roku felt an unusual alignment of the elements along with Wan Shi Tong and the two quickly headed to the four statues. Avatar Roku arrived to the spiritual side of Wan Shin Tong's library as did the knowledge spirit, both surprised to see the badger mole statue hum in resonance first followed by the sky bison, the dragon, and then the moon. A small bubble rose up from the tile in the center, slowly taking the shape of a young man who remained still as the nexus grew. Soon, the nexus was complete and with a great tremor the young man fell out of the ring onto the tile floor. He struggled to his feet unaware of the four statues as they became silent once, and the small burst of light lingering from the badgermole statue and his own chi lighting up in response. Roku took note of the badgermole's lingering glow while Wan Shi Tong stared in shock at the human and then shock turned into rage at the human's presence in his library. The great avian spirit of knowledge moved to strike the human down, forgetting the importance of the statues and the large amount of spiritual energy residing within the statues…._

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**Wan Shi Tong's Library, Room of the Nexus Archives**

A young boy awoke to sounds of a loud screech that seemed to echo out all around him. He winced at the pain and slowly opened his eyes in order to locate the source. The boy blinked a few times as his vision cleared up within a few minutes, only to be quickly filled with a strange man in red robes with long white hair down to his neck. In front of the man was a large black owl trying to reach out past the man to get to the boy. But the owl was warded off by a strong blast of fire from the man's fist, forcing the owl to back off.

"Curse you Roku, the human does not belong in my library along with all of your people!" the owl roared at the man while the boy's eyes widened in response.

"They are not my people, but Ozai's people and Sozin's people," replied the man calmly. "And this child is not from any of the four nations."

"Lies, how do you explain his presence and yours as well?" the owl asked as Roku pointed to the four statues.

"Have you forgotten where we are in your library Wan Shi Tong? The locks you have put on this room to prevent anyone from entering them?" Roku countered and raised his hand towards the boy. "Gaze upon the boy and tell me if any part of his person is spoken of in your knowledge."

Wan Shi Tong's neck slowly retracted and his features became more owl-like. The boy stared dumbly as the large owl peered over at him taking in his appearance and clothes. He wore a dark green shirt with the letters M, A, S, H on the front over a strange symbol. Instead of red pants, he wore dark blue pants that seemed to be too well stitched for human hands. Even his shoes were unlike anything the owl spirit had seen with string inside and smelling of leather. Wan Shi Tong moved to the boy's dark hair and light amber brown eyes causing Wan Shi Tong's eyes to narrow at the boy. Roku watched as Wan Shi Tong turned to him with the owl equivalent of a smirk on his face.

"A clever trick putting a Firebender into my library wearing strange attire, but I am not fooled by simple tricks Avatar Roku. I will dispose of this Firebender without haste," Wan Shi Tong stated and turned to find the boy up on his feet in a strange stance he did not recognize.

"What do you mean Firebender? I'm no pyromaniac!" The boy shouted while looking from Roku to Wan Shi Tong.

"Explain yourself human, how did you break into my library?" Wan Shi Tong angrily ordered the boy.

"How do I know you won't try to attack while I'm talking?" The boy countered causing Wan Shi Tong's feathers to bristle out.

Before either one could continue, Roku moved between the two and threw his hands out at them. Two streams of fire flew from his fists onto the floor scorching the stone yet serving its purpose as the boy and Wan Shi Tong moved away from the fire. Satisfied, Roku straightened back up as the boy took a few more steps back away from both spirits. His eyes darted from one to the other and he turned to Roku when the Fire Nation Avatar began to walk towards him.

Roku stopped walking and let out a sigh. "Do not worry child, I mean you no harm," he said but the boy shook his head. "We both have many questions, perhaps we may also have the answers too," he added and the boy slowly nodded. "Let us listen to the boy and I believe you too have questions to ask of this child, Wan Shi Tong."

"Kite Ravine," the boy quietly told them. "That's my name, Kite Ravine."

"I am Avatar Roku of the old Fire Nation," Roku said while Wan Shi Tong eyed Kite uneasily. "Excuse him please, he no longer allows humans in his library anymore."

Kite raised an eyebrow at Wan Shi Tong who stared back at him. "Why is that?" he innocently asked.

"One of his people came to my library seeking knowledge, only so he could gain an advantage over the other nations, and once they were finished, they burned all knowledge pertaining to the Fire Nation!" Wan Shi Tong shouted back with anger in his voice. "My patience wears thin with you Kite, leave now or I will strike you down where you stand…"

"Look, I would never burn your books or any other book, this whoever did is an idiot to do that!" Kite stated fiercely much to Wan Shi Tong's surprise. "No offense to you sir,"

"None taken young Kite, now if you could, please tell us all that you can remember about how you got here." Roku suggested and Kite nodded then sat down.

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Kite waited patiently on the floor underneath the only entrance and exit to Wan Shi Tong's library. He had left the room minutes before once he had finished answering and asking questions. Roku and Wan Shi Tong left with him but departed not a moment afterwards to ponder on the knowledge that Kite gave them. Kite was also doing the same thing though he was not alone, one of Wan Shi Tong's knowledge seekers, a small fox kit in his lap that had taken up residence in his lap. He was grateful for the kit's company as he looked up at the small patch of moonlight shining down at him.

The two sat there for almost ten minutes before the kit woke up from her nap with a soft yawn. Kite sat motionless except for the slow rise and fall of his chest, the young boy having fallen asleep in his pondering. The kitsune put her front paws on his chest and licked Kite's cheek causing him to slowly open his eyes. He looked down at the little vixen in his lap before smiling at her.

"Guess this isn't a dream huh?" Kite asked the vixen.

She gave him a slight nod and softly whined. Kite chuckled at the kitsune while he began to stroke the little fox's fur. _They're probably looking for a way to send me back to my world, _he thought to himself. _My world, guess that has a new meaning to me now… _

The pair was broken from their individual thoughts by the sound of feathers ruffling in the library. Kite slowly stood up while the vixen jumped up onto his shoulder and the two bowed their heads to Wan Shi Tong and Roku. Roku returned the gesture as Wan Shi Tong eyed the vixen that immediately hid behind Kite's head.

"I am sorry to inform you Kite Ravine-," Roku started to say.

"Please sir, just give me the truth," Kite politely requested and Wan Shi Tong sighed.

"The ring of statues has returned to sleep, I suspect that they have brought you here for a purpose young child and I can see now why they chose you," Wan Shi Tong told him as Kite lowered his head. "You possess a strong spirit and a strong mind. It does not hurt that you have a respect for knowledge either which I find refreshing for once in many years,"

Kite's head went up as Roku nodded to the young boy. "I have a request of you Kite about the Avatar and his friends," he said as Kite listened intently. "They are currently looking for an Earthbending teacher, one who has mastered the principles of neutral jing," he paused to make sure Kite was keeping up. "While he is on the right path, I fear that Ozai's daughter will go after them, and with knowledge that they should not have," He watched Kite take in the information then continued. "Kite, would you be willing to help the Avatar in his journey?"

"I'm not a bender and all I have is my boxing and kickboxing," Kite replied to Roku.

"Your martial arts make you a close-range fighter and you have a cunning mind in addition to your strength," Wan Shi Tong stated causing Kite to stare at him in surprise at the compliment.

"Aang's future Earthbending teacher may be able to teach you how to control your untapped potential as well," Roku added, much to Kite's confusion.

"My untapped potential, what do you mean?" Kite asked only for Roku to smile.

Roku slowly faded away leaving Kite to scratch his head while Wan Shi Tong sighed. "Spirits such as Roku's can only stay in places such as my library for a short time," he explained. "The offer still remains young child and I expect you have come to a decision," he stated and Kite gave him a strong nod. "Very well, I will have Rei guide you to where the Avatar should be," he extended a wing out and two scrolls dropped from his wing. "One is a map of the Earth Kingdom, the other is a blank scroll for you to keep," he said as a fox walked up carrying a small bag in its mouth. "There is enough money here for you and a cloak for you to wear. If you should ever come here again, I will permit you to browse through my collection, in exchange for your some knowledge from your world," he finished saying and Kite bowed to him.

"Thank you I will write what cannot be abused," Kite said shakily as he extended out his hand.

"…Very well, we are at an agreement." Wan Shi Tong replied and he shook Kite's hand with one of his feathers.

"…I have two questions before I leave though, who is Rei and how do I get out of here?" Kite asked and the small vixen licked his cheek. "Okay, forget the first question."

Wan Shi Tong nodded and Kite picked up the bag while Rei jumped off his shoulder, picked up the scrolls in her mouth, and then jumped back up onto his shoulder. With a nod, he swept his wing over Kite and Rei, enveloping them in his feathers before they vanished out of sight. The large owl spirit let out a sigh while the remaining fox nodded and left Wan Shi Tong to his thoughts.

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**Southern Earth Kingdom**

Kite woke up to find Rei licking his face, the small gray vixen's ears perking up as he got up into a sitting position. _I guess that's how I get out, _he told himself. Rei disappeared for a moment and returned with the map scroll in her mouth.

"Thanks Rei, now let's see where I'm headed to next," Kite said as he rolled out the scroll. "I think the Avatar might have moved, any ideas where to head to?"

Rei nodded and placed her paw on top of a small city. She then looked around as Kite picked up the map. _I guess she already knows what I'm thinking about, I can't read any of this,_ and Kite scanned the map and smiled a little as he noted a small tag placed on a spot on the map. He then looked up to see Rei writing in the dirt with a stick in her mouth, finishing up only for Kite to frown.

"Sorry Rei, I can't read it but I appreciate your effort," Kite scratched the vixen's ear to emphasize his words.

He quickly donned the simple cloak and left the money in the bag along with the scrolls, tying the bag to his waist. Rei took up her position on his shoulders while wrapping her tail around his neck. Kite chuckled at the little fox before the two looked around and found a small cave for them to sleep in.

The two quickly settled in with Rei once again resting in Kite's lap while he leaned up against the cave wall. Kite went to sleep first as the exhaustion finally took its toll and Rei looked up at him for a moment before joining him. His dreams were filled with the words of the two spirits, and questions about the Avatar and the mysterious Earthbender he would eventually meet.

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**Southern Earth Kingdom, Morning**

Rei and Kite woke up early with the little knowledge seeker taking up her official seat on his shoulder. He pulled the map out of the bag and looked to Rei. The small knowledge seeker looked at the map for a moment as Kite walked out of the cave. She looked around a few times before pointing with her snout straight towards some mountain caves.

"Okay, let's get a move on then," Kite happily stated as he put the scroll away.

Before he could start walking, a pair of sandy brown foxes came running towards them. Rei greet the two with a nod and the two foxes returned the nod while Kite accepted the scroll from them. The fox pair stepped forward and the male, much to Kite's surprise, began to speak while Rei jumped off his shoulder.

"Our master has sent the two of us to teach you the language Kite, and to guide you through the mountain pass," The male informed as the female began to speak.

"We must return quickly to gather more scrolls, let us be on our way now," the vixen stated as Rei took up position between the two.

"…Um, okay…Lead the way then," Kite said, unaware of the Avatar and his group heading towards a coastal city just across from his own destination…

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_Preview: Kite Ravine and Rei arrive in the city of Gaoling where the fox twins depart, and Kite buys himself new clothes. The Avatar and his group arrive at the outskirts of Gaoling while Rei meets them, then leaves and informs Kite of the Avatar's presence. Meanwhile, Kite discovers an Earthbending Tournament in Gaoling and of an interesting champion…_

R and R please, and if Wan Shi Tong seems OC, I will address it in the next chapter


	2. The Blitz Boxer

Avatar: Nexus

Chapter 2: The Blitz Boxer

_Preview: Kite Ravine and Rei arrive in the city of Gaoling where the fox twins depart, and Kite buys himself new clothes. The Avatar and his group arrive at the outskirts of Gaoling while Rei meets them, then leaves and informs Kite of the Avatar's presence. Meanwhile, Kite discovers an Earthbending Tournament in Gaoling and of an interesting champion…_

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar:The Last Airbender, or martial arts other than those I create for recreational literary purposes. Yeah, I like creating terms on the spot when I don't want to go into details...

A personal thanks to Khajmer and DarkBluexx for the first two reviews which are greatly appreciated.

As for Wan Shi Tong's personality, Roku persuaded the avian spirit to give Kite a chance. That and Kite offered up some knowledge of his world which is all but impossible for Wan Shi Tong to get otherwise.

Note: This chapter has been updated with a slight revision as a result of realizing a mistake I made. The revision is small, but important and is the result of a bit of research I did that required me to address the mistake at once.

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**Southern Earth Kingdom, Gaoling Local Inn **

A few days had passed by since Kite and Rei arrived in Gaoling, one of the Earth Kingdom's coastal cities though hidden by the surrounding mountains and forests. The fox twins had left him the day before once they had helped Kite to purchase some clothes along with a room at a local inn. He had learned the written language surprisingly fast under the fox twins, though Kite was pretty sure that it was because of how much they drilled the whole alphabet into his head. Kite couldn't deny that their strict methods didn't give him good results; he was able to read at least small sentences now though anything more was impossible. With the scroll they left him, Kite could continue learning without their presence and would eventually be able to read the language fluently.

Kite stretched out a few times and threw a combination of various swift punches in the air as part of his exercises. Rei lay on his bed watching him intently as he stopped punching for a minute to catch his breath, and then throw a few quick kicks followed by a swift roundhouse kick. He let out a deep breath and lowered his leg down slowly while lightly panting as he relaxed his body.

"That was a good workout for now," Kite stated and Rei yawned in response. "Just give me a minute to change, and we'll go on our search,"

Rei nodded and Kite picked up his recently bought clothes while the young knowledge seeker vixen decided to take a quick nap. She woke up shortly in time to see Kite wearing his new Earth Kingdom clothes with his home world clothes in his arms. Instead of his dark green t-shirt, he now wore a short sleeved brighter green shirt with a dark brown vest over the shirt, complete with a standing collar over his neck. He wore dark green pants with a simple belt that had two rows of metal lined holes to match his shirt and vest along with a pair of simple boots. With the extra money left over, Kite purchased four sets of wrappings, two of which he now wore on his fists up to his elbow, plus a green and brown headband to keep his bangs up along with a scroll, ink, and a writing brush to practice .

Kite looked over to Rei who gave him a quick look before leaving the room via the window in a small gray blur. "Guess I just head out on my own today," he said aloud and made sure he grabbed his keys and hid his home world clothes underneath away before locking the door and exiting the inn.

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**Gaoling Streets**

After a half hour of getting the final bits of his mental map of Gaoling complete, Kite started walking down the streets with his hands at his sides, silently wishing he had some pockets to put them in. He missed being able to relax with his hands in his jean pockets and felt uncomfortable without them. _On the plus side, these wrappings are perfect for combat and training _Kite noted as he continued walking. A man wearing a pale blue shirt sighed only to perk up when Kite passed by. He smiled and quickly caught up with Kite and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey kid, do you have a second?" the man asked and Kite turned with his arms folded across his chest.

"What's with the fliers?" Kite pointed at the small yellow fliers in the man's hands with a bit of curiosity over the items.

"Glad you asked. You like Earthbending? Do you like throwing rocks?" The man's words were almost a practiced routine as Kite tried not to wince at the odd speech. "Then check out Master Yu's Earthbending Academy."

He handed one of the fliers to Kite and walked after another person, giving them the same sales pitch he gave Kite in the same tone and manner. _He needs to work on it more, _Kite thought as he looked at the flier. The front was too difficult for him to translate outside of the address, and the back was not any better on him. With what Kite could read though, the back had a coupon on it for a free Earthbending lesson. _Couldn't hurt to try, and I could see what Earthbending is about. _Kite looked at the address and name of the school again before heading off to the Earthbending Academy.

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**Gaoling, Master Yu's Earthbending Academy**

The academy appeared to be a little more than a dojo in size and appearance though much more authentic than the ones in his world in a strange sense. Kite had already handed in his coupon and the assistant in return, handed him a free uniform to put on. He was grateful that he had just reached thirteen and a half in age, and the uniform was not too different from his current outfit. When the assistant came to lead him to the courtyard, he had suggested removing the wrappings, but Kite shook his head and insisted he keep them on. _At least if I can't Earthbend, then I can block the rocks and not have to waste time getting bandages...I hope._

Kite looked over at the regular students, and a few of the boys just eyed him blankly. A few of the girls glanced over at his arms and wrappings before looking straight ahead. He looked down at his uniform of a white undershirt with a green sleeveless tunic over the undershirt with yellow green trim. The hat had a weird design on top, but Kite did admit that he liked the wrist and ankle band ideas so far.

A tall thin man walked up to the group wearing a long sleeved shirt over a dark green full sleeved shirt. He didn't even glance at the students and immediately began instructing them.

"Take your stances everyone," He instructed and all the students obeyed. Kite glanced at their stances for a moment before lifting up his fists in front of his face while leaning forward a little, shifting into his own stance. "You're going to get hurt with a poor stance."

"I'm a slow learner," Kite replied to the man who sighed and addressed the rest of his students.

"Now then, strike as if you're punching through your opponent's head!" He ordered while Kite's danger sense kicked in.

The girl across from him bent the rock up and with a shout threw her fist straight at the rock, aiming at Kite. He was already twisting his torso to add more power to the punch when the girl fired the head sized rock at him. Kite quickly threw the punch straight at the stone with a great deal of force, shattering the stone into pieces. All the students stared at him in surprise while the thin man smiled enthusiastically at him.

"I take it your ready to commit to more-?" The man started to ask.

"Can I look around for a bit, I want to see where I train at," Kite quickly added to cover up the wince from the pain in his knuckles and the rest of his hand. He had been lucky he has his fist closed instead of opened, or else he might have broken a few fingers instead of the rock breaking against his knuckles.

"Of course, follow me please," The man instructed and Kite walked behind him.

Master Yu led Kite to a small area where younger children were practicing their stances and breathing exercises. Kite noticed the size of the children as well as the age, most seemed to be half his own age or less though the belts seemed to have no pattern at all. He looked around at one of the other courtyards as some older students pounded sand inside a large beige barrel, and turned his attention back to Yu.

"This place is pretty large, you must have a lot of students," Kite stated to Yu.

"I do, however, some of them cannot make it here and so I personally tutor them in Earthbending," Yu explained and smiled at Kite. "So then, would you like to join my Academy now?" he asked.

"No thank you, I'm not much of an Earthbender anyway," Kite replied and walked off.

He quickly picked up his clothes and walked out of the Earthbending Academy at a steady pace. He let out a sigh as he began tracing the route back to the inn, and turned around to find two older boys wearing the same uniform as he was walking towards him. Neither one seemed to notice Kite as they were too busy talking to each other to care, and walked straight past him while they continued to talk.

"Like I said last time, there is no way the Boulder is going to win Earth Rumble Six," The full haired boy said to his friend.

"Come on, I think the Boulder has a solid chance of winning his title back," He replied as Kite's ears perked up.

"Even if he does, he has to get through the rest of the competition first before he can face the Champion again," The first boy countered.

Kite set his clothes down on a nearby bench and went after the boys. "Can anyone enter Earth Rumble Six?" he asked curiously.

The two boys turned to Kite, eying him for a moment before they both burst into laughter. Kite just ignored their antics as the two boys leaned on each other for support. He calmly waited for the two to stop laughing, though his hand was already balled up into a fist as he took a deep breath to remain calm. Finally, the full-haired boy managed to stop laughing long enough to speak.

"A kid like you would get creamed in Earth Rumble," he said still chuckling.

"Yeah, there's no way a little baby like you could ever dream of taking on the Boulder," His friend added with a snicker.

"Can I get the directions without the annoying two-cents please?" Kite asked harshly, angering both boys.

"You got a pretty big mouth there for a baby," one of the boy's told Kite.

His friend cracked his knuckles while eyeing Kite from head to toe. "I think you need a lesson in manners," he warned.

"And I think you should back off now," Kite countered and the two boys sprang into action while Kite reacted in turn.

He ducked underneath the closer boy's flying stone and quickly dashed over to the other boy within several seconds. Kite's fist slammed up into the boy's chin, followed by a sudden twist of his torso and a hard back kick to the boy's gut. The force of the kick sent the boy crashing into the wall in pain while the other one stomped on the ground and tried to bring up a pillar right underneath Kite. With a burst of speed and adrenaline, Kite barely dodged the earth attack and jumped at the second boy connecting with his jaw fist first. A sudden left cross combined with a right straight nailed the second boy in the jaw while Kite finished the combination with a quick spin kick to the teenager's jaw. Kite slowly lowered his leg down to the ground while the second boy fell unconscious from the kick. _Glass jaw, you have got to be kidding me…_

The first boy could barely catch his breath as Kite lifted the older boy up with one wrapped hand. His real surprise came when Kite brought him up against the wall with just the one hand while eyeing the older boy with disdain.

"Let's try this again without the back talk. Can anyone get into Earth Rumble Six?" Kite asked as politely as he could manage right now.

"T-the entry d-deadline already p-p-passed," The boy stammered out. "B-b-but I c-c-can tell y-y-you anything you w-want to know-w-w!"

Kite nodded in approval yet he didn't lower the boy to his feet. "Good, now I have a few questions for you," he stated and the boy nodded furiously. "What do you know about the champion?" he asked.

"She's a legend-d, no one has beaten her since she first arrived-d," the boy answered shakily.

"What about her appearance, nickname, anything unusual about her?" Kite suggested to the boy.

"She's called the Blind Bandit and I-I think she has pale green eyes…"

Kite nodded then looked over to the second boy who was still out cold on the ground. "So tell me more about Earth Rumble Six…"

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**Gaoling Outskirts, Afternoon**

"We should be able to make it by nightfall," Aang announced to his friends.

"In that case, we're better off camping out on the outskirts of the town," Katara suggested while her brother groaned.

"Just once I would to sleep in a nice warm bed when I want to…" The Water Tribe warrior grumbled and Katara rolled her eyes.

Appa let out a brief roar in agreement while Momo looked down at the ground. The winged lemur looked around with his eyes for a moment before Aang steered Appa down towards a large clearing. Momo waited until they had landed before taking off into the forest leaving Aang to scratch his head in confusion. He was surprised at Momo's odd behavior and Katara patted his shoulder out of comfort.

"I'm sure he'll come back soon Aang," Katara said to Aang who nodded with a small smile on his face.

"Your right Katara," Aang replied while the two went to help Sokka set up camp.

A few hours passed by before Momo returned to Aang's joy and confusion when he saw the small gray vixen accompanying Momo. He stared in amazement at the vixen that looked up at his tattoos with her ears perking up in what he thought to be astonishment. She quickly jumped up onto his shoulder and began to gently paw at his tunic causing Aang to laugh at the vixen's actions. Katara heard the laughing along with Sokka and the two walked over to Aang to find the small vixen still pawing at his tunic.

The Waterbending Master smiled at the scene while Sokka narrowed his eyes at the small fox kit. Aang noticed his friends' presence and gently removed the vixen off of his shoulder.

"Hey look guys, a gray fox, cool!" Aang told them, handing the fox to Katara carefully.

"Hi there, what's a little vixen like you doing out here?" Katara politely asked as Sokka scoffed.

"Come on sis' that's not a female fox," Sokka stated only for the vixen to leap out from Katara's arms and pounce on Sokka's head. "Ouch, get off me!

"Katara just giggled at her brothers antics for a good few minutes before removing the satisfied vixen off his scratched up face. "See Sokka, she's a girl," she scratched the gray fox's ear causing her to happily purr. "I wonder where she came from though," she pondered aloud.

"Maybe she belongs to someone?" Aang suggested to Katara.

"Well, I don't see a tag on her anywhere," Katara replied as Sokka rose to his feet.

"All I know is that she is mean for a little creature," Sokka stated, nursing his cuts with both hands.

The little gray fox gave a soft yip before licking Katara's cheek causing her to giggle. She then jumped out of the Katara's arms, landed onto the ground and began walking away. Halfway into the small forest though, the vixen turned to Aang, gave a small bow to him and then left. All three friends looked at each other in confusion while Momo leapt up onto Sokka's shoulder.

"Did she just bow to you Aang?" Sokka curiously asked the Airbender.

"I think he's right, she did bow to you," Katara added while Aang scratched his head.

_Could she know who I am? _Aang asked himself as they all slowly resumed unpacking their gear, all the while Aang thought about his vision and now the gray vixen who had bowed to him.

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**Gaoling, Local Inn, Evening**

Kite had spent the last few hours listening in on every conversation he could make out. He did hear about the Fire Nation's victory and then defeat at the North Pole of the world. The young fighter shook his head while he walked towards his temporary home. _Sounds like one of the ancient empires I heard about from history class, though none of them could create and control fire. _Kite let out a sigh as he entered the lobby and nodded to the older couple who ran the inn. He walked up the stairs past a few of the other tenants before reaching his own room.

The young fighter unlocked and then opened the door to find Rei waiting for him with her big, bright yellow eyes looking up at him. Kite smiled and picked the little vixen up while closing the door behind him.

"Looks like you had a good day too," Kite said to Rei.

She nodded and jumped out of his arms onto the small desk in the room. Rei sat up on her hind legs and pointed to the piece of paper on the desk. Kite finally noticed that the tip of her tail was now a faded black color and the ink bottle was open. He didn't need a book to tell him why she was able to write so Kite sat down in the chair while Rei fetched the alphabet scroll for him.

"Okay Rei, let's see…Searched for scrolls…found none, better luck next time then…" Kite comforted the vixen and continued reading. "Don't recognize this one, wait, Ava-tar right?" he asked Rei who nodded to him. "Okay, so you found the Avatar at the outskirts of the city, right?"

Rei nodded again and Kite smiled at the vixen. "Thanks for using just the characters Rei. I'd be looking over this scroll for weeks if it was in full form," he told the vixen who smiled and yipped at him. "Well, if he's still searching for his Earthbending teacher, I should hang around Master Yu's Earthbending Academy in case he pops up there," Rei tilted her head in confusion. "Here's the flier that I got from an assistant," he handed her the flier from out of his belt. "Oh yeah, I already took the free lesson though it was pretty useless…"

Kite looked over at Rei who dipped her tail into the ink and wrote several characters on the used paper. "W-h-y-d-o-y-o-u-t-h-i-n-k-t-h-a-t…."

"The guy was way too friendly when it came down to money," Kite tried to explain and he sat down on his mat with a sigh. "I can't even bend any of the elements anyway…"

He was stopped by a cannonball from Rei, knocking the wind out of Kite. The two friends soon began to play around for a while, temporarily forgetting about the mission for the moment to have some fun. Even though the two were very focused on the missions, Kite was still a kid and Rei was still a fox kit and so the two played together. After a while, the two settled down and made plans to search the city early in the morning for the Avatar, excited to get one step closer to their objective. Before he went to bed though, Kite checked his knuckles and winced at the cuts as well as soreness in his knuckles.

Rei quickly disappeared and then reappeared holding a small bottle in her mouth. She dropped it down on the bed as Kite unwrapped the material and put the end in his mouth, and picked up the bottle as he braced himself. With a deep breath through his nose, he opened the bottle and poured a small bit of the liquid onto his cuts.

Kite bit down hard on the wrappings as Rei handed him a bit of torn cloth from his uniform she had taken pleasure in ripping off. He took the cloth and wrapped it around his knuckles followed by the wrappings and let out a heavy sigh.

"Remind me to never do that again," Kite told Rei.

That night, Kite dreamt of a boy with blue arrow tattoos on his body with a large sky bison at his side and a half moon behind him. Beside the boy stood an older girl, this time with a full moon behind her, and holding the boy's hand in her own hand with a smile on their faces. Next to the dark skinned girl was a dark skinned boy wearing blue and white armor carrying a small lemur on his shoulder and with a fan tucked into his belt wearing a moon pendant around his neck.

Kite turned to see a young girl facing away from him with a family of badgermoles surrounding her and a flying pig standing at her side. He looked down at himself to find Rei on his shoulder and a baby badgermole at his side. The world began to fade away and Kite reached out for the girl only to find a large black vulture blocking his path. With a surge of anger, Kite threw his fist out at the wicked avian and a large pillar slammed into the vulture's chest. The vulture seemed to fall, only for a large black mass to remove itself from the avian, and the now lighter vulture gave him a grateful nod of the head and left in a flurry of feathers, much to Kite's confusion before he turned his attention back to the girl. She slowly turned her head towards him to show pale jade green eyes and reached out for him slowly as if she was unsure where he was...

Kite awoke with a start to find his brow covered in sweat while Rei was licking his cheek and whining. He let out deep breath he didn't know he had been holding, and then began stroking Rei's fur to comfort her.

"You think Avatar Roku was behind that, or was it someone else?" Kite asked Rei.

She shrugged her nonexistent shoulders and curled up beside his pillow on his cloak. Kite chuckled at the vixen knowledge seeker before returning to sleep. A small smile appeared on the face of Roku as he stepped out of Kite's mind and went back into the spirit world. _You are very special and very lucky Kite Ravine…_Roku's smile grew while he looked around the spirit world with a relaxed air about him. _And it seems Avatar Kyoshi was right about your potential…_

_

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_

_Next time…Avatar:Nexus...Chapter 3  
_

_Preview: Kite Ravine, the Other World Fighter meets the Avatar and joins their group, helping them to find the Tai Lei tournament known as Earth Rumble Six. The Blind Bandit and the Blitz Boxer clash, and Kite discover the identity of the girl in his dream, the heiress of the Bei Fong family, Toph. Earthbending meets mixed-boxing as the Avatar witnesses the strength and skill of the Off-World Fighter Kite…_

R and R please, and I will do the same in return. Thank you!


	3. Earthbender vs Fighter

Chapter 3: The Blind Bandit

"The Blind Bandit vs. The Blitz Boxer"

Previously: Kite Ravine, the boy from the Nexus, has arrived at Gaoling with the knowledge seeker vixen Rei, and has revealed his skills in boxing and kickboxing. Avatar Aang has arrived at the city outskirts with Sokka and Katara of the Southern Water Tribe on his Sky Bison Appa and his pet winged lemur Momo. Rei has met Aang and his friends, and has informed Kite of the Avatar's arrival. Kite dreams of his companions to be, and of the strange girl surrounded by badgermoles and a flying boar......

_Preview: Kite Ravine, the Other World Fighter meets the Avatar and joins their group, helping them to find the Tai Lei tournament known as Earth Rumble Six. The Blind Bandit and the Blitz Boxer clash, and Kite discover the identity of the girl in his dream, the heiress of the Bei Fong family, Toph. Earthbending meets mixed-boxing as the Avatar witnesses the strength and skill of the Off-World Fighter Kite…_

Lei Tai – (beat platform (on a drum)) raised platform where fighters have to knock off their opponent in order to win

* * *

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**Gaoling Streets, Market Area**

The young other world Fighter made his way down the market area streets, following his small fox companion with his new wrist bands now proudly worn over his wrappings. Due to her small size, no one seemed to notice the fox as she weaved through the legs of the people with ease. Kite almost lost her a few times but the knowledge seeker vixen would always come back into view to guide him further. Rei was using her sense of smell to track down the Avatar through his pets' unique scents including the small lemur she had asked for help from. The small vixen had managed to commit the two animals' scents to memory quickly which Kite chalked up as one of the perks of being a knowledge seeker in training.

He looked around every once in a while as he followed Rei, though for the most part he kept his eyes on his little foxy guide. Before they left their inn, Kite had told his little guide about the dream, believing that the Avatar was the light skinned boy in his dream and Rei confirmed his theory with her findings the day before. The little vixen had drawn the Avatar as best as she could with her tail, and the strange blue arrow tattoos confirmed that he had indeed seen the Avatar in his dream. She also confirmed the older girl and boy in his dream as being the companions of the Avatar minus the fan and the armor for the boy. He also told her about the girl, but the young vixen had not seen such a girl with the Avatar and his companions, though she did show interest in the flying boar he had seen as well as the strange badgermole creatures. When he mentioned the black vulture to her, Rei had grown silent and with the end of the conversation, they left to go find the Avatar and reached the market streets they were currently in after an hour.

Kite sighed and came to a stop as Rei stopped in the middle of a t-shaped part of the market. "Did we just miss them?" He asked Rei and the vixen shook her head. "So they're nearby," he said as Rei nodded. "Come on then, let's take a good look around," he happily suggested.

Rei jumped up onto his shoulder and took up her usual position of tail curled around his neck and lying across his shoulder. She had grown fond of the human fighter like an older brother that she always wanted.

"Psst, hey kids, you like Earthbending? You like throwing rocks…?"

_That voice, I wonder, _Kite turned his head quickly while Rei dug in her claws and nipped his hair in anger. _Sorry about that Rei…_She seemed to understand his thoughts and licked his cheek in a simple apology as they focused back on the situation.

"Then check out Master's Yu Earthbending Academy!"

Kite quickly found the same man from before handing out a flyer to a boy. The man's body blocked his view of the boy for a moment before he went after another person, much to Kite's relief. He stared at boy and a girl looking over the flyer with a winged lemur on the girl's shoulders. _Just like from that dream Avatar Roku gave me, I wonder where the other boy is…_ The young fighter shrugged it off and happily approached the two strangers.

Momo suddenly looked up from the flyer and let out a short burst of chatter. A small yip answered him causing Katara and Aang to look up at the source of the sound. Aang smiled at the familiar gray vixen lying on Kite's shoulder as he walked up to them while returning the smile. Katara looked over Kite a few times, noting his wrappings and boots before giving him a warm smile.

"Hi, is she your pet fox?" Katara politely asked Kite.

"More like I'm her pet human," Kite replied jokingly as Rei gave a small bark in agreement. "I've actually been looking for you guys for a while now,"

"You're looking for us?" Aang curiously asked Kite.

Kite nodded to Aang. "Yep, I'm Kite Ravine," he said and shook Aang's hand warmly then Katara's. "Rei told me she saw you guys yesterday so we started looking for you today," he explained to the pair. "I'm here to help out Aang," he added as a lean boy walked up to them.

"Hey guys, I bought the bag!" Sokka announced happily until he noticed Kite's presence. "Who's the weird guy?"

"His name is Kite and he says he's here to help Aang somehow Sokka," Katara replied while Kite nodded.

"…Are you a Fire Nation spy?" Sokka suddenly asked and Katara smacked him in the head.

Katara shot a glare at her brother before turning to Kite. "I'm sorry, my brother tends to insert his foot into his mouth," she quickly explained.

"That's okay, it's happened to me once before. Actually, I'm here at the request of Avatar Roku," Kite replied softly, unsure of how anyone would react to the name. "He wanted me to aid you any way I can."

"So then you're another bender?" Sokka grimly asked Kite.

"I don't know what a bender is. But if you need someone for hand-to-hand," Kite explained and tapped his knuckles together once. "Then I'm your man,"

Aang warmly smiled at Kite and held up the flyer to him. "Since you've been in the city for a while, what do you know about this guy?" he asked curiously.

"He's okay I guess, though I'd be careful if I were you Aang..." Kite replied with a shiver.

"Go on Aang, you might find your Earthbending teacher there," Katara suggested to Aang and Kite nodded.

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**Gaoling, Master Yu's Earthbending Academy**

The rest of the group including Kite and Rei waited outside for Aang to scope out Master Yu. He wore the same uniform as Kite had worn, minus the bandages and stood a little taller than Kite did. Aang looked at the other kids with a gulp as he noted their serious faces as Master Yu walked up in stride.

"Just like yesterday, take up your stances."

Kite perked up at the voice and stood straight up with a frown on his face. Rei jumped off his shoulder into Katara's lap while Sokka watched the young fighter turn to them.

"I think Aang might be in some trouble..." Kite told the two siblings.

"Just relax, I'm sure Aang has everything under control!" Sokka assured Kite.

"Now strike as if you were punching straight through your opponent's head!"

Aang stared in horror as the boy across from him bent the rock up into the air and let out a quick shout before punching the rock. He flinched and the rock hit him square in the chest, knocking him back into a large pot with a crash. Master Yu walked over to the sand buried Aang with an odd smile on his face.

"So then, are you ready to commit to more lessons? If you pay for the whole year in advance, I'll bump you up to the next belt," Yu offered to Aang as the sand fell over his face.

The trio looked up to see the students all filing out of the academy with Aang at the back of the group. He was still trying to get all the sand out of his clothes when he walked up to them.

"He's not the one, I'm sure of it," Aang told them. He slapped one side of his head a few times, knocking some sand out of the other ear.

"…Earthbending a rock at each other?" Kite asked worriedly and Aang nodded. "Sorry Aang, I didn't think they would give you the same lesson…"

"You knew about it and didn't tell Aang!?!" Sokka exclaimed only for Katara to smack his head, hard.

She gave her brother a harsh glare before turning to Kite. "Don't listen to Sokka, I believe you Kite," Katara warmly told him causing him to smile.

Kite looked up as a pair of familiar boys walked past him and his eyes lit up suddenly. Before he could speak though, the boys had already begun talking and he closed his mouth shut.

"I think the Boulder is going to win back the belt at Earth Rumble Six," the shaved boy stated.

"Fine, but he still has to fight through the best Earthbenders in the world before he can even get a shot at the champ," the other boy stated.

Aang looked over to Kite who flashed the younger boy a smile. "I heard about Earth Rumble Six, it's a Lei Tai Earthbending tournament," he explained. "The champion goes by the name 'the Blind Bandit' and is currently undefeated," he added and Aang smiled at Kite.

"Do you know where it's held at?" Aang enthusiastically asked Kite.

"Sorry Aang, I didn't think to ask," He apologized and Katara patted him on the shoulder.

"That's okay, we can ask those two boys for directions," She suggested to everyone.

The Avatar nodded and ran up to the boys. "Excuse me," he called out to the boys. They stopped and turned around to face Aang. "Where is this Earthbending tournament being held?" he politely asked.

"Oh, it's on the island of none ya'," the shaved boy said. "None ya' business,"

The two boys exploded into laughter as Aang's face fell in disappointment. The rest of the group walked up to Aang while the boys walked off as Sokka laughed beside Kite. He was oblivious to Katara's frown and Kite's glare as he clutched his sides.

"Hahahaha…I gotta remember that one," Sokka winced as Kite slugged him in the arm. "Hey!"

"I'll take care of this," Katara said before running after the two boys. "Hey strong guys wait up!"

She ran after the boys as they turned the corner, leaving Aang and Kite alone with Sokka. Momo and Rei just relaxed on their respective seats as Sokka glared down at his new bag. He angrily tore it off his shoulder while eyeing the bag with contempt.

"What was I thinking? My old bag is still good," Sokka stated and dropped the bag onto the ground. "Why did I even buy this bag?" he asked out loud.

Momo instantly jumped down from Sokka's shoulder into the bag while Rei looked over at him. She watched Momo make a quick circle in the bag before plopping down and resting his head on top of a strap. Kite also noticed the Water Tribe warrior's purchase and he gave a one-shoulder shrug as Katara returned. The Waterbending master was smiling from ear to ear and appeared to be very happy with her little trip.

"Are you ready to find an Earthbending teacher?" Katara asked Aang who slowly nodded his head. "Good, because we're going to Earth Rumble Six!" she proudly told the group.

"How did you get them to tell you so fast?" Aang curiously asked.

"Oh, a girl has her ways," Katara replied with a mischievous smile on her face.

Kite immediately began snickering and Aang nudged his friend out of worry. "You persuaded them right?" he asked Katara.

"You just have to say the right words," Katara explained cheerfully.

The two boys wouldn't be found until the evening once the ice had melted away. But by then the group was long gone and both boys would have nightmares for the rest of their lives.

**********

**Gaoling, Underground Arena, Evening**

The group spent the hours before entering the Earth Rumble Six arena by helping Kite pack up his gear, then move to their campsite where Appa was waiting for them. The sky bison happily licked Kite in agreement and earned him a warm pet from the young fighter. Before they did anything else, Rei had Kite ask Katara to look at his knuckles and she easily healed them with her Waterbending much to his joy and awe at the simple display of Waterbending. As soon as the sun had begun to fall, Katara led them towards the cavern they had entered half an hour ago and purchased their tickets using the group's new combined funds.

Kite stared in amazement at the large arena carved out of pure stone and rock. He was even more amazed when Aang explained that the arena had probably been made by Earthbenders.

"Makes you wish you could Earthbend…" Kite whispered as they reached the bottom of the stands.

"Hey look, front row seats!" Aang exclaimed happily as they all sat down. "I wonder why no one else is sitting here…"

A large boulder suddenly crashed into the stands beside Sokka causing them all to jump up in surprise. Kite stared in eyes widened in shock at the sheer size of the boulder while Sokka gulped uneasily.

"I guess that's why…" Sokka stated hollowly and the group turned to the arena.

Down in the arena, a tall man stomped down on a pillar, bending it down to the arena floor. He lifted his head and smiled at the crowd as they roared, hollered, and shouted with excitement.

"Welcome to Earth Rumble Six," he shouted and his voice echoed throughout the underground stadium. "I am your host Xin Fu!"

Katara let out a sigh and propped her elbow up on her leg. "This is just going to be a bunch of guys chunking rocks at each other for fun, isn't it?" she asked.

"That's what I paid for and that's what I want to see!" Sokka replied with a grin on his face.

"On the bright side, we can see some good Earthbending," Kite said and glanced over at Sokka. "Or just the fights for some of us..."

The Waterbending Master smiled at Kite's words as Xin Fu finished explaining the rules and jumped off the arena up into a large commentator's stand. Oddly enough, Kite noted that the stand was no more than a dozen seats away from the boulder and he turned his attention back to the arena.

A large man with muscles walked up onto the arena floor with a large gray tattoo of a mole on his back and a pair of dark green pants and a belt on. Opposite of him stood a much larger man with lighter skin, though with a large build instead of large muscles.

"Round one: The Boulder versus the Big, Bad, Hippo!"

The shorter man smirked and addressed the taller man. "Listen up Hippo, you may big, but you ain't bad," he told the Hippo, adding gestures to his words. "The Boulder's going to win this in a landslide!" he grinned.

"Hippo……mad!" Hippo roared and stomped one foot down onto the arena floor.

The Boulder stomped his foot as he pulled his arms back and twisted his torso. A set of rocks rose up into the air in response, hovering for a moment before he swung his arms forward, and they flew straight at the Hippo. They impacted with a loud crash, kicking up a large dust cloud in the process.

When the dust settled, the Hippo stood with one rock in his mouth before chomping down on the rock. He chewed them a few times and spat them out while glaring at the Boulder.

Kite watched in awe as the Hippo began to jump up and down, his massive weight and strength causing the arena to rock up and down. _I wish I could tell if he was actually Earthbending or not, _he thought to himself as Xin Fu nicknamed the Hippo's move as 'rocking the boat'. The Boulder staggered back, unable to keep his balance as he headed towards the edge.

However, he quickly bent out a large tile from the side of the arena and hurled it at the unsuspecting Hippo's back. He spun around to face the Boulder as he began to lift his arms up. At the same time, the rock underneath the Hippo's feet began to rise, with the Hippo still on the small platform and he fell on the rock face up as it rose into the air. With a loud shout, the Boulder sent the platform and its passenger flying out of the arena, down into the pits around it as the crowd cheered at his victory.

"The Boulder wins!"

The crowd cheered as the Boulder threw his arms up in victory and smiled at the crowd. Kite on the other hand just shook his head while Rei just set her head down on his shoulder.

"How about the Boulder, he looks like he's got some good moves," Katara suggested to Aang.

"I don't think so, Bumi said I need a teacher who listens to the earth," Aang told Katara as Kite listened in on their conversation. "He's just listening to his big muscles."

"Listens to the earth, I wonder how someone does that," Kite added in and Katara nodded.

Aang turned to Sokka to look for the Water Tribe warrior's wisdom. "What do you think Sokka?" he asked only to find Sokka shouting and screaming his head off.

"Next match, the Boulder versus Fire Nation Min,"

The group watched as a Fire Nation themed man walked proudly onto the stage carrying a Fire Nation flag. Almost the entire crowd rose to their feet and began booing the man in red, including Sokka who added a double thumbs down gesture to his booing.

"Please to rise for Fire Nation National Anthem," Min stated and he cleared his throat. "Fire Lord, my flame burns for thee…" he began to sing as the crowd pelted him with rocks.

"Go back to the Fire Nation!" Sokka shouted and hurled a rock straight at Min's forehead.

Kite just shook his head while Aang looked to his new friend. "I don't think he's going to last five minutes," he told Aang. "The Boulder is way out of his league," he added.

No sooner had he said those words that the Boulder had buried Min up to his chest in the arena floor. Min pleaded desperately in vain as the Boulder stomped his foot while lifting up his arms and a large pillar lifted him up into the air. With a grin on his face, the Boulder jumped into the air dove down knee first with his legs tucked back, landing with a crash and Min went sailing through the air.

The unfortunate man crashed down into the boulder close to Sokka, knocking him out cold from the impact. He remained motionless as Sokka cheered madly at the Boulder's victory over Fire Nation Min.

"Yeah, the Boulder knows how to put the hurt in the dirt!" Sokka roared as Aang and Momo dumbly watched the warrior jeer the unconscious Min.

Katara just propped her head up in her hands and did her best to ignore her brother's antics. She only opened her eyes when she heard a loud smack followed by a yelp from Sokka and she looked over at him. Kite was glaring hard at Sokka who resumed his cheering though now he was sporting a large bump on his head. He noticed Katara and Aang's stare as well as Momo's and let out a sigh.

"I have a low tolerance for idiots and noise," Kite calmly explained and they all went back to watching the fights.

The Boulder blew through the rest of competition defeating opponent after opponent to the audience's enjoyment and Sokka's as well as his own. Kite just ignored the enthusiasm while Katara focused on ignoring all the men acting like a bunch of fools. He managed to distract himself by moving Rei into his lap and petting the vixen softly to relax her.

After the Boulder's last victory, the stadium grew dark with the only light shining focusing on Xin Fu. Kite and Aang both leaned forward as Katara mimicked the two and even Rei who had moved to the Waterbending Master's lap, was interested in the appearance of the champion.

"Now ladies and gentleman, the moment that you have all been waiting for has finally arrived," Xin Fu dramatically announced as everyone moved to the edge of their seats. "…The Boulder versus, your champion, the Blind Bandit!"

The light shone on a small figure across from the Boulder and all the lights went up to reveal the champion. Aang and Katara stared in disbelief as the two women took the belt and cape from the girl before walking off down into the arena's surrounding pit. Yet the crowd just cheered loudly as the girl turned to face the boulder.

She wore green pants and a shirt under a yellow vest with flaps hanging down towards her knees. A belt held the vest in place while her ankles and wrists were covered by green cloth and iron bands with a yellow ring at the top of each one. On top of her head was a yellow and green headband similar to Kite's in design, though hers had two white puffballs on each side.

"She can't really be blind; it's just part of her act, right?" Katara asked the two attentive boys.

"I think she is blind," Aang replied as Kite's eyes slowly widened in surprise.

"I think she has pretty eyes," Kite stated. Aang and Katara turned to see the young fighter staring at the Blind Bandit intently with a light blush on his cheeks. "What, she does have pretty eyes!"

"I think she is…going down!" Sokka shouted and Kite rolled his eyes at the older boy.

Down in the arena, the Boulder eyed the Blind Bandit a few times before frowning at her. He shook his head and took a hard step forward.

"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young blind girl," The Boulder said to the Blind Bandit.

"Sounds to me like your scared of a little girl Boulder!" the Blind Bandit smirked as the Boulder frowned and narrowed his eyes.

"The Boulder is over his conflicted feelings, and now he's ready to bury you in a rockalanche," The Boulder roared confidently.

"Whenever you're ready, the Pebble," The Blind Bandit countered and threw her head back in laughter.

Kite's eyes widened as he remembered the girl from his dream while flashes of Aang's vision went through the Avatar's mind. He remembered the girl laughing as the flying boar took off, and pictured the girl with her hair out of her face and laughing.

Aang let out a sudden gasp as did Kite and both boys suddenly turned to each other. The two boys stared at each and nodded, then turned their attention back to the arena with a new interest in the fight.

"That's it, it's on!"

The Boulder took a deep breath and focused on knocking the girl off the arena in one move. He took a single step forward and the girl suddenly took up her stance with both arms forward and her hands cupped upwards, swinging her foot out forward in a light step. She pulled the foot back as the Boulder lifted his other foot up and stomped the ground swiftly with a kick. A small fissure moved forward from the tile she kicked, and headed straight for the Boulder. He had no warning as his foot touched the fissure and it pushed his foot off course, bringing him into a sudden set of splits with a swift slide.

Sokka looked on in horror at Boulder's position and several men in the audience instinctively winced at the fighter's position. Even Aang had to flinch as the pain hit the Boulder head on causing him to wince and whimper at the pain.

"Oooooooo!" The Boulder howled in pain.

The girl ignored his howl as she stepped forward while making a three fingered chopping action. Three small pillars shot up out of the ground, hitting the Boulder straight in the neck, lower back, and his waist at the same time with considerable force, knocking him straight out of the arena. He flew off the arena in a vertical spin until the wall stopped his progress with a loud crack from the impact, and he slowly fell down to the ground.

"Your winner and still the champion, the Blind Bandit,"

Her face broke out into a large grin as she raised her fist into the air in triumph. The crowd cheered her on with the exception of Sokka who mourned the loss of his favorite Earthbender. Aang smiled along with Kite as Katara stared in disbelief at the blind girl's easy victory.

"How did she do that so quickly?" Katara asked aloud as Rei nodded in agreement.

"She used neutral jin," Aang replied while Kite looked at him in confusion. "She waited, and listened before she attacked,"

"That has to gotta be the strongest tomboy I've ever seen," Kite stated proudly as he stood up while Sokka glared at him.

Xin Fu jumped down off his box and onto the arena with a sack in his hand as well as a smile on his face. "To make things a little more interesting tonight, I will offer this sack of gold pieces to anyone who can defeat the Blind Bandit!" he announced, yet no one said anything. "What, no one dares to face her?" he asked as Aang swiftly stood up.

"I will-!" Aang yelled but he went unnoticed as a louder voice rang out.

"I dare to face her!" Kite shouted as he walked up the stairs with a determined grin on his face.

The young fighter had already jumped down when Xin Fu made his announcement and was halfway to the top when Aang yelled. He glanced back at his new friends while Aang stared in surprise at Kite's bare feet except for the bandages. Katara looked at Kite with shock while Rei gave her friend a worried look which Katara soon mimicked. She was starting to grow attached to the young human fighter and she did not want to see him get hurt in his first fight against a bender.

Kite shot them a big reassuring grin then turned to face the girl while cracking his knuckles in anticipation. He quickly stretched a few times and glanced back at his boots on the steps as Xin Fu jumped back up to his stand. The crowd cheered at Kite's enthusiasm with Sokka amongst them as Kite finished stretching.

The Water Tribe warrior cheered the loudest even though he had been angry at Kite's praise of the girl earlier. "Go Kite, avenge the Boulder!" he shouted as Rei glared at him.

"I hope he knows what he's doing down there," Katara said while comforting the worried vixen in her lap.

"Don't worry Katara, I think he's going to be okay," Aang told her with a smile and they turned their attention back to their friend.

The girl smirked at Kite and he returned the smirk with a grin. "Do people really want to see two little girls fighting out here?" she bluntly asked him.

"Oooooooooo…."

Kite didn't even flinch at her insult and instead he continued grinning at her. "I'd show you the difference but you couldn't see them anyway," he countered proudly.

"Ooohhhhhh…"

"Sounds like the girl thinks she grew a pair," the girl shot back with a grin.

"Ooooooooo…"

"I guess you want us to stand here and talk like a bunch of sissies," Kite stated.

"Oooohhhh…"

"You must feel right at home then," she casually replied.

"Ooooooooo…."

"Feels like I came to your family reunion," Kite fired back.

"Ooooohhhhhhhhh…"

"See, there just trash talking right now," Aang wincingly said to Katara.

"Boo, no trash talking!" Sokka shouted. Katara reached behind Aang and smacked her brother's shoulder.

"Don't boo at Kite!" Katara warned while missing Aang's growing blush.

Kite narrowed his eyes and took a single step forward and the girl smirked at him. He had almost no time to react as she stomped her foot forward causing a small pillar to shoot up underneath Kite. The young fighter awkwardly pushed off against the pillar into the air, barely avoiding being thrown up and out of the arena by the attack. His awkward jump did not go unnoticed by the girl who began looking around for him until he landed off to her left.

She frowned and turned to Kite with a glare on her face. "Someone's a little quick on his feet, what's your fighting name?" she asked. "The Fancy Monkey?" she added

"It's the Blitz Boxer, princess," Kite shot back at her.

Her frustration turned to rage as another pillar shot up underneath Kite, this time much faster and higher than before. He quickly grabbed a hold of the tip and pushed off harder than before, sending him high into the air over her head. The girl looked around again as Kite narrowed his eyes and descended down behind her. He braced his feet for the landing as she looked back around again.

"Where'd you go now?" She asked herself as Kite landed loudly behind her with a small crash. "There you are!"

"Bring it on!" Kite roared as she spun around and stomped the ground.

A large rock shot up and she fired it straight at Kite's location with a smirk. The adrenaline blocked off the pain in his feet as Kite pushed off against the tile. He dashed out of the way of the boulder as the girl lifted two more up with two quick stomps. She fired them as Kite ran towards her in a zigzag pattern and jumped up over the first boulder. The second boulder clipped him on the shoulder hard, knocking him off balance as the girl felt him try to steady himself.

She stomped again, this time throwing her hand forward and a pillar shot straight towards Kite. With flashbacks of his previous fights in his mind, Kite reacted on instinct and sidestepped out of the way before moving forward in a strange zigzag pattern. The Blind Bandit moved back and threw two quick jabs in the air as Kite began to push her further back with his charge. Two more pillars shot up where he had been just a moment earlier, but Kite was still in motion as the girl realized her mistake one moment too late when he began to close the distance between them. She jumped back away from Kite as he shot forward in a straight quick dash, and moved to her side with his first real attack already planned. He tried to knock her off her feet with a sweep kick, but she jumped over it and prepared her counter attack only to find Kite already throwing a quick jab at her. The girl dodged his attack as he threw a swift set of jabs at her, and on the last punch, he stopped short of her guard over her face and threw a sudden punch under her guard. She winced as the punch connected with her side while Kite launched a quick cross punch but she blocked again. _He feinted and caught me off guard. This guy can't be a ordinary fighter.  
_

Kite stepped back to catch his breath from the running he had to do and had to move back as she levitated a rock with a simple stomp and then fired it at him. _At long range she has me beat with Earthbending. _He quickly shifted to defense as he dodged the rock barrage she shot at him while keeping an eye on her position. _But she doesn't move her legs while Earthbending. I have only one shot at this so I have to make it count. _With a burst of speed, the young boxer dropped down as a rock sailed over his head and shot forward in the same zigzag pattern, adding a slight swaying motion to his step as he did so. She paused for a moment before throwing her hands down and then swiftly threw them up as a large wall of rock shot up in front of her. Kite quickly moved to scale the wall but changed his mind and instead made a sharp turn and shot straight towards the Blind Bandit, wincing as he was clipped in the shoulder by a waiting bowling ball sized rock. Ignoring the pain, he closed the distance between them, barely avoiding the second large rock in the process and threw a quick straight punch, yet the girl just backstepped out of his range as he cut the punch short. _Now! _The Blind Bandit threw up her arms in front of her face to block Kite's cross punch only the blow never came to her surprise and horror. _A double feint_!_ He's too close for me to fight now! _She moved to kick the ground but was stopped by a powerful blow connecting with her gut and forcing the air out of her lungs. _I can't lose to him like this! _But the girl could do nothing as she gasped for air, leaving her vulnerable for a moment as Kite pulled his fist back and twisted his torso, winding up for his final blow. The lull in combat was enough for the Blind Bandit to catch her breath and she quickly stomped and swung her hand skyward and a short line of stone shot up to hit Kite from his right.

Her attack was not quick enough as Kite threw his punch, adding his full weight and force into the blow as the girl managed to block with her arms before the blow could actually connect. The stone barely missed Kite who winced as one of the smaller stones hit his shoulder and cut his shoulder though his opponent was not as lucky as he was. Though she had blocked the attack, the punch had a surprising amount of force and momentum behind it, causing her to fly back off arena and down into the pit to her surprise as well as Kite's. Both fighters had failed to see how far their fight had managed to carry them towards the edge and Kite stared in horror at the distance to the ground as the girl landed with a thud.

Everyone in the stands and the fighter's area stared in shock as Kite slowly stood up with a worried look on his face. Sokka, Aang, and Katara all looked at each before breaking out into grins including Rei who was relieved to see Kite was alive. The crowd soon broke out into cheers as Kite dashed over to the stairs in time to see the girl storm off with a wounded pride and stomach.

"Wait up a second, Aang needs an Earthbending teacher and I think it's you!" Kite called out to her as he put on his boots.

"You won already Fancy Feet so get lost!" the girl shouted back and opened up a small rock door for herself.

Kite tried to reach her before she could close the door but he was too drained from the fight to even make it down the stairs. He lowered his gaze as she left, and walked back up to the stairs where a small crowd was waiting behind Xin Fu. The young fighter didn't even look up when Aang and Katara greeted him with smiles as Sokka gratefully accepted the prize money and the belt. He avoided looking at Aang and Katara while Sokka put his arm around Kite with a goofy grin on his face.

"Way to go champ'," Sokka said while Kite finally raised his head and apologetically lowered his head towards Aang.

"I'm sorry Aang…" Kite whispered as the Avatar gave him a soft smile and patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry Kite, we'll find her," Aang assured him as Rei jumped onto his shoulder and licked his cheek in agreement.

*************

**Gaoling, Road to Master Yu's Earthbending Academy, Morning**

The next morning the group was up early and began walking back into town after a long discussion with Sokka about not spending the money. Kite had insisted that he didn't deserve the money and finally Katara had stepped in and convinced her brother to leave the money alone, though wearing the champion belt seemed to help with his decision. Before they left though, Aang noticed the bruises and cuts that Kite had recieved in his fight, and once Katara had healed them, they headed into town and began searching for the mysterious champion.

"I gotta admit, I'm really glad that I bought this bag now," Sokka announced happily to the group. "It matches my new belt perfectly, thanks Kite,"

"That is such a relief for everyone," Katara sarcastically said while Kite tore the belt off of Sokka and strapped it across his chest.

"I fought the Blind Bandit Sokka, not you," Kite reminded him with a frown on his face. "I didn't win the fight, she only fell out of bounds..."

Aang noted Kite's frustration at Sokka and quickly changed the subject. "Well if we want to find the Blind Bandit then the Earthbending Academy is the best place to start," He stated.

They soon entered the academy and found a pair of familiar boys pounding some sand with their bare hands. Kite and Katara both glanced at each and nodded as the boys looked up from their work.

"Not you again…" The gray-haired boy moaned.

Katara gave them both a heated glare and they stepped back away from her. "Yeah, I didn't think so," she stated.

"Guess you guys still haven't learned," Kite told them with a smirk on his face. Both boys took a few more steps back as Kite cracked his knuckles for effect.

"Nicely done you two," Sokka whispered while eyeing the belt.

"Wait a second… you're the kid who beat the Blind Bandit!" The two boys approached Kite in both awe and a little fear.

He gestured to Aang and the Avatar took over the conversation. "We need to talk to her; do you know where she lives?" Aang asked.

"The Blind Bandit is a mystery," The gray haired boy informed them. "She only shows up for the fight, and then disappears once it's over…."

Aang lowered his gaze and Katara placed a hand on his shoulder while Kite eyed the boys with pity. He did not envy anyone who made Aang upset while Katara was around him.

"Let me handle this," Katara sweetly told Aang then turned her head to glare at the nearest boy and stomped up to him. "You're not telling us everything!"

"N-n-no I swear, no one knows who she is or where she goes!"

"He's right Katara, all we know is her eye color is pale green or jade," Kite stated while Aang suddenly smiled.

Aang quickly turned to Kite as the two boys relaxed a little. "That's because we've been asking about the wrong person," he explained. "In my vision, I saw a girl in a white dress with a pet flying boar," he told them.

"Same here, though she was also surrounded by a bunch of weird half-mole, half-badger animals," Kite added.

"You're talking about badgermoles," The brown haired boy said, poking his head out from behind his friend. "The first Earthbenders learned Earthbending from watching the Badgermoles Earthbend,"

"And the flying boar is the symbol of the Bei Fong family, they're the richest people in town," The other boy added. "Probably the whole world too,"

"Yeah, but they don't have a daughter," the first boy added.

Kite folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. "Maybe they do, maybe they don't," he thought aloud and opened his eyes. "Master Yu told me that he tutors some students privately," he continued explaining. "Could be worth looking into," he suggested.

"Well, a flying boar is good enough for me, let's go check it out!" Aang exclaimed and took off out of the courtyard.

The two boys relaxed and sneered at the group as they began to walk away. "Yeah you better leave…" one of them muttered.

"Hey," Katara called out and looked back at them. "I got my eye on you," she pointed to her eyes and then to the boys.

"Watertribe," Sokka whispered as he followed his sister and Kite smirked at the boys.

"Peace," Kite added and followed the others out.

************

**Gaoling, Earth Rumble Stadium**

"I'm telling you, the Boulder saw the whole fight, the Boxer did not use any Earthbending at all, he just threw punchs a lot and then she fell out of the ring!" The Boulder stated angrily. "No boy has that kind of strength without Earthbending, the Bandit must have took a dive and split the money with the Boxer,"

Xin Fu growled and slammed his fist against the side of the small tunnel. "No one cheats Xin Fu and gets away with it…"

************

**Gaoling, Bei Fong Estate**

The group peeked out over the ridge and gazed down upon the massive estate. None of them had ever seen anything so majestic and so big before. Kite let out a low whistle as he looked over the walls and buildings. His eyes honed in on the large picture of a winged boar over the front door and glanced over at the others as Aang also noticed the animal. Both boys nodded to each other and turned to their friends.

"That's the flying boar from my vision, I'm sure of it," Aang said.

"Well let's go and say hello then," Kite suggested and the group moved away from the ridge.

They quickly made for the nearest wall with Aang and Kite in the lead followed by Sokka and then Katara. Aang used an Airbending assisted jump to clear the wall while Sokka climbed his way up. Kite climbed up a tree till he was level with the top of the wall, and then walked out onto the roof while Sokka helped Katara up. Together with Aang, the two boys helped Katara gently to the ground while Kite paused on the roof top.

"So Earthbending comes from badgermoles, then badgermoles must represent Earthbenders…" Kite told himself as he carefully landed on his feet while thinking about the information from the boys. "But why did I have one?"

The young fighter soon joined his friends as they ran to the nearest bush and poked their heads out one by one. Kite looked around a few times until he felt the ground rumble underneath him. He quickly grabbed the nearest people, Aang and Katara, and tried to pull them out of the way a second too late. The other three were sent flying into the air from the sudden earth mound while Kite fell onto his butt hard all of the sudden.

Kite quickly stood up and started to look for Katara and Aang as the Avatar managed to catch Katara with the help of Airbending while Sokka landed flat on his face. Aang lowered Katara to her feet only to be thrown up into the air by a small rock pillar and he fell back down on a bush. He looked up to see the Blind Bandit glaring down at him wearing the dress he had seen in his vision.

"What do you want Twinkle Toes?" she asked angrily as Kite pulled off the belt. "Didn't I tell you to get lost once already Fancy Feet?"

"I did and I wound up here," Kite replied while rubbing his sore butt.

"How'd you know it was us?" Aang questioned.

"Don't answer to Fancy Feet and Twinkle Toes, it's not manly!" Sokka whispered to Aang while Katara and Kite rolled their eyes.

"You're the one who thought his bag matched the belt," Katara told Sokka as Kite let out a sigh.

The girl turned to Kite as he took a step forward only to stop when he saw her tense up. "The belt should have been yours, I didn't use any Earthbending to beat you," he stated as Sokka's jaw dropped. "I won only because you fell out of the ring," he added. "Not because you couldn't fight anymore," he said while the girl gave him a small smile.

"You have some guts coming here Fancy Feet, but your right, I would have beaten you if it wasn't for the stupid ring," she said as Kite nodded.

"I only caught you off guard with the feints because you wait and listen for attacks like Aang said," Kite explained to her.

"Yeah, so how'd you find me anyway?" she asked the group.

"Well, a crazy King told me that I had to find an Earthbender who listens to the earth, and then I had a vision in a magic swamp and-," Aang began to explain only for the girl to raise an eyebrow, skeptical about his story.

Katara quickly stepped in and Kite noticed the Bei Fong heiress turn her head. "What Aang's trying to say is that he's the Avatar, and that if he doesn't master Earthbending soon he won't be able to defeat the Fire Lord." She explained and the girl threw her palm out towards Katara.

"Not my problem," the girl said and Kite noted how her hand was in front of Katara's face. "Now get out of here, or I'll call the guards," she warned as she walked past Katara and Sokka.

"Look, we all have to do our part to win this war, and your part is to teach Aang Earthbending," Sokka firmly told her.

"Guards, guards help!" She shouted and the group immediately scattered, except for Kite and Sokka.

Aang and Katara looked back at their friends and Kite gave them a smile before motioning for them to leave. The two frowned then left while Sokka quickly swiped the belt and strapped the belt across his waist. He quickly ran off while Kite looked over to see green helmets headed towards him as the girl grabbed his arm and glared at him.

"You should run with the others Fancy Feet," she whispered to Kite.

"I'm only holding onto the belt for you," Kite replied. "I want to have a real fight for it sometime with no out of bounds rules,"

The young fighter quickly hid behind the hedge just moments before the guards came into view. Kite bit his lip as he heard their footsteps and his muscles tensed up in case he had to run.

"Toph, what happened?" The first guard asked as she pulled her bangs back behind her ears.

"I thought I heard someone…I got scared," Toph lied as Kite listened intently to her.

"You know your father doesn't want you to wander the grounds without supervision Toph," the guard told her and the two led her back to the main compound.

Kite waited till he was sure they had left and peeked over the hedge. _I'm starting to think that this was a bad idea, _he told himself as he went over to the wall where Sokka was waiting for him. _I think she has some problems of her own to deal with. _The young fighter looked over to Aang and noticed his friend's strange smile. He began to wish that the guards had found him as he followed his friends to the front gate.

************

Toph sat in front of her parents with Master Yu beside her. She wore her mask of frailty in front of them, though she had a hard time keeping it up. Her run in with Fancy Feet and Twinkle Toes had been annoying for the most part until Kite had spoken to her. The young fighter was unlike the others, he even seemed to respect her as a fighter and an Earthbender in spite of her blindness. Her bruise and sore arms from blocking his last punch was clear evidence that he hadn't held back against, and she was secretly happy about the revelation despite how painful it helt felt. Toph quickly shook the thoughts from her head and listened back in to the conversation.

"I am very pleased to hear that Toph's private lessons are going well," Her father said as he set down his tea cup. "But I want to be sure that she's not trying anything too dangerous,"

Yu smiled at Bei Fong patriarch and nodded his head. "Absolutely not, I'm keeping her at the beginner's level as you wished. Basic forms and breathing exercises only," He explained.

"Very good Master Yu," the Bei Fong head stated as a servant walked up to them and bowed.

"Excuse me sir, but you have a visitor at the door," the man informed them.

"Who dares think that they are so important that they can just come to my home unannounced?" the Bei Fong patriarch asked in anger.

The servant gulped and carefully worded his next, perhaps even final words. "The Avatar sir, and his companions," he replied and Toph's eyebrows shot up in surprise, then anger as she blew one of her bangs out of her face.

***************

**Bei Fong Family Estate, Dining Room**

The group soon sat down with the Bei Fong family with Kite sitting across from Yu while Sokka sat across from Toph's father, stuffing his face as if he was going to die tomorrow. Kite shook his head at the Water Tribe warrior's manners and took a sip from his warm peppermint tea. He gently nudged Katara with his leg and quickly motioned to Toph. The Blind Earthbender seemed to be staring off into the distance, but the two could tell she was actually glaring at Aang.

One of the servants brought out some nice hot soup and placed it down in front of Toph. Kite glanced over to see Toph's father frown at the steam coming from the soup.

"Blow on it, it's much too hot for her," he instructed and Aang smiled.

"Allow me," Aang made a hand sized whirlwind and guided it over to Toph and cooled off her soup.

"She's blind, not ill you know…" Kite muttered under his breath as Toph seemed to relax at his comment.

Master Yu and Toph's parents clapped in amazement while Kite frowned at Aang. Katara noticed his growing anger on his face but remained quiet as Toph's mother spoke.

"Avatar Aang, it's an honor to have you visit us," she said as Katara glared over at Sokka, still stuffing his face. Kite joined Katara with his own glare before shortly looking over to Toph.

"In your opinion, how much longer do you think the war will last?" Toph's father asked Aang as Kite's ears perked up at the word war.

"Well, I'd like to defeat the Fire Lord by the end of summer," Aang replied while turning to Toph. "But I can't do that without finding an Earthbending teacher first,"

Kite's knuckles cracked causing Toph to glance over at him as he took a deep breath to calm himself down. He was beginning to see a rough idea of Aang's plan and he didn't like it one bit at all. Katara had heard the crack as well, and turned to Kite as his eyes flashed with anger and disappointment for a brief moment.

"I can assure you that Master Yu is the finest teacher in the land, he's been teaching Toph since she was little," Her father proudly stated while Kite paused a moment to raise an eyebrow.

"Then she must be a great Earthbender, probably good enough to teach someone else-ow!" Aang suddenly yelped as Toph had bent a pillar up into his foot suddenly.

She calmly and serenely ate her rice while Kite smiled at her little move. He watched as she continued to smile and eat as if nothing had happened at all.

"Toph is still learning the basics I'm afraid," Yu informed them as Kite narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, and sadly because of her blindness, I don't think she will ever become a true master," Her father added, unknowingly causing Kite to firmly set his bowl down.

"I don't that's true," Kite stated calmly. "I believe that Toph could easily become an Earthbending master if she is given the opportunity to do so sir. Being blind doesn't mean she can't stand on her own,"

Toph actually blinked a few times as she turned her head towards Kite. She was surprised at the young fighter defending her all of the sudden in front of her parents. Even more surprising was the fact that she could not feel any change in his heart rate that would have told her he was lying. That meant Kite had not only defended her in honesty, he had also suggested that she be given a chance honestly as well. More than a chance to her, an opportunity to experience true freedom instead of her secret life of Earthbending.

Katara, Aang, and Sokka all looked at each other in surprise at the two statements from Kite. The Waterbending Master was beginning to worry about Aang's plan as Kite clearly had begun to form his own plan in mind. She could only hope that the Avatar was aware of Kite's growing anger and didn't provoke him accidently.

"She might be even better than you think she-," Aang was cut off when his chair suddenly moved forward, knocking him face first into his soup.

He wiped off the soup from out of his eyes while Toph's father looked over Toph, yet she was again smiling and calmly eating her food. Kite tried not to smile at her discreet Earthbending, though the smile turned to a frown when he saw Aang smirk mischievously. Katara also noticed Kite's frown a second too late as Aang suddenly sneezed loudly, covering up a controlled burst of Airbending. The result was all of the dishes flying onto Toph, her mother, and Master Yu, covering them in the contents with great success.

Toph shoot up to her feet and glared straight over at Aang. "What's your problem?" she angrily asked.

"What's your problem?" Aang shot back at Toph.

"She asked first Aang," Kite growled out and stood up out of his chair. "Please allow me to take Toph to get cleaned up for you sir,"

"Our servants can take care of this little accident," Toph's father offered yet Kite shook his head.

The young fighter's actions confused Aang as he looked over at Kite only to be met with a flash of anger in his eyes. "I wish to make up for Aang's lax in manners for the moment," he insisted. "Toph usually needs some help cleaning herself up right?" he asked though Toph could tell he was forcing his question out.

"Of course, please allow one of the servants to lead you to a washroom," the Bei Fong patriarch told Kite.

He nodded, and then bowed his head to Toph's parents and Master Yu before going over to Toph and helping her out of the room. Kite's sudden departure with Toph left an awkward silence which Toph's mother quickly broke.

"Such a polite young friend you have, he must be a valuable asset to your group," She politely said while wiping some of the soup off her clothes and face.

"I have seen him before at my Academy for a one time lesson," Yu said while removing some of food off his clothes. "He showed an impressive level of strength when he shattered a rock with a single punch."

Both Katara and Sokka's eyes widened in disbelief while Aang remembered his lesson with Master Yu, and imagined Kite shattering the rock instead of being hit by it. "Kite is very strong fighter,"

"Well then, let us move to the living room for desert and further discussion," the Bei Fong patriarch stated.

************

The group was now relaxing in a large guest room Toph's parents had provided for them. They even had a small area set up for Appa to sleep in, allowing the group to quickly move into the guest room. Rei sat in Katara's lap with a worried look on her face while the Waterbending master comforted the vixen by stroking her fur. Aang was checking on Appa, though on the inside the young Avatar was still disturbed by Kite's behavior. He knew that Kite saw eye-to-eye with Katara even though he seemed to get along with everyone in the group on some level, he was still surprised by Kite blocking his attempts to persuade Toph to join the group.

"Goodnight buddy," Aang said to Appa and the large sky bison gave a short roar in response.

The sound of footsteps caught his attention and Aang turned around for a moment. He quickly gave out a shout before getting into an odd stance while eyeing Toph uneasily.

"Relax Twinkle Toes. Look, I'm sorry about dinner," Toph said to Aang. "Let's call a truce okay?"

"Do you know where Kite is?" Katara asked Toph and Rei lifted her head up.

"He's out in the courtyard pounding on a pillar I made him, said he needed to work out some frustration," Toph replied while Aang scratched his head in confusion at the reply.

Toph let out a sigh and gestured to Aang. She led him outside of the compound into the large courtyard where Kite stood nearby, leaning against a pillar of rock. The structure in question seemed normal until the moonlight hit the surface, revealing several fist shaped indents in the rock. Kite looked up and Aang flinched underneath the young fighter's gaze, until they exchanged a set of apologetic looks and he joined them as they walked across the bridge. Toph jumped up onto the ledge and began to walk across calmly.

"Even though I was born blind, I never had a problem seeing," Toph told them as she walked on the stone wall of the bridge without a care.

She paused and jumped off onto the ground, landing perfectly without any problems. "I see with Earthbending. It's kind of like seeing with my feet," Toph smiled and continued. "I feel the vibrations in the earth and I can see where everything is, you, Fancy Feet, that tree, even those ants." she explained.

"That's amazing!" Aang exclaimed.

"No wonder you stayed in one place, moving too much makes it hard for you to see," Kite added as he looked at Toph with respect. "You probably can't be beat by any Earthbender alive,"

"My parents don't understand that," Toph said as they walked over to the wall. "They've always treated me like I was helpless ever since I was born,"

"Is that why you became the Blind Bandit?" Aang carefully asked.

"Yeah, it is," Toph replied.

Kite took a step forward with a sad frown on his face. "I can see why, they only you see you as a fragile doll," he said sadly. "You're not as fragile as they think you are, you're strong," he stated. "Not many kids our age can block my shotgun punch like you did," he told her.

"Shotgun punch?" Toph asked him with a mix of confusion and curiosity.

"Was that the last punch you used? The one where you twisted and built up for it?" Aang added and Kite nodded. "That punch seemed really powerful,"

Toph smirked and pulled back her left sleeve to reveal a small bruise in the shape of a fist in the middle of her arm. Aang winced at the size while Kite rubbed his head in embarrasment at the bruise. "You bet it was Twinkle Toes, I haven't felt something that strong since I started practicing Earthbending in secret,"

Kite smiled for a moment at the compliment before they grew quiet and their thoughts strayed back to the situation. The Avatar cleared his throat and quickly changed back to the original subject.

"...Why do you stay here if you're not happy then?" Aang politely asked her, hoping to better understand his future teacher.

"It's your parents, you love them too much to leave them," Kite concluded as Toph nodded.

"They don't know how good I am at Earthbending and I can't tell them. Besides even if I could leave, where else could I go?" Toph questioned the two.

Aang looked over at Kite and then turned back to Toph. "You could always come with us," he suggested.

"Yeah, you guys get to wherever you want, no one telling you what to do. That's the life I'd like," Toph replied. "But it's not my life,"

Kite opened his mouth to speak when he felt the hairs rise up on his neck. He tensed up as Toph snapped her head to the side while placing a hand down on the ground.

"Its way too quiet," Kite whispered as he balled up his fists. "Something isn't right..."

"We're being ambushed guys!" Toph verified and she began to run.

Kite grabbed Aang by his arm and the boys followed behind Toph. She felt the vibrations catch up to them and cut them off moments before the mole competitor exploded out of the ground. He landed on his feet and smirked at the duo, then blinked a few times in confusion while Toph and Aang moved into their stances.

"Hey where'd the other kid go?" The mole Earthbender asked.

"Below you punk," Kite answered as the man moved one second too late.

He gasped as Kite's fist impacted into his face a moment before the other fist made contact with the side of his head. The man growled and hit Kite back in the chest, forcing him to stagger back to Toph's side from the grown man's punch with his eyes angrily focused on the tunneling Earthbender. None of them had a chance to react when two metal boxes fell over them, and the Hippo stomped them into the ground. Aang glared out through the bars at their attackers while Kite and Toph gave each other some space to glare at their captors.

"I think you kids owe me some money," Xin Fu stated with a smirk.

*************

Sokka and Katara stood with Toph's parents and Master Yu around the three cage imprints. Rei pawed at the ground whining as Katara comforted the little vixen. She had gone looking for Kite earlier and when she found the imprints, the vixen immediately gathered everyone up and led them to the wall. Sokka reached down and pulled up a sword that had an odd scroll stuck onto the blade.

"Whoever took Aang, Toph, and Kite must have left this note," Sokka suggested and handed it to Katara.

"'If you want to see your daughter again, bring five hundred gold pieces to the arena,' it's signed Xin Fu and The Boulder," Katara told them as Sokka looked over the scroll.

"I can't believe it," Sokka whispered then grabbed the scroll from his sister with a smile. "I got the Boulder's autograph, yes!"

His happiness was cut short when Rei suddenly pounced onto his head and began scratching the Water Tribe warrior's face up. Katara didn't even bother to stop Rei, letting the vixen vent out her anger on her bonehead brother as Toph's mother walked over to the imprints.

"Master Yu, I need your help to get my daughter back," Toph's father said as Katara turned to them.

"We're coming with you," Katara stated as Rei finally stopped her attack.

Toph's mother kneeled down and frowned at the set of marks in the ground on the verge of tears. "Poor Toph, she must be so scared," she sobbed as Katara picked up Rei.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Kite will keep her safe," Katara said to comfort Toph's mother as well as Rei.

************

"You think you're so tough, why don't you come up here just so I can smack that grin off your face!" Toph shouted down at Xin Fu and the Boulder.

"I'm not smiling," Xin Fu calmly stated.

"He's right, good thing you can't see him too," Kite told Toph. "Man, he is one ugly guy,"

Toph turned to Kite as Xin Fu glared up at the pair. "I guess you're right," she said. "Come up here so I can smack the ugly off your face!" she roared.

"That would be doing him a favor," Kite reminded Toph as they both began to smile.

"I know Fancy Feet," Toph replied and smirked. "That way I can mess up his face myself!"

Aang just shook his head at the pair's strange antics. "I can't believe their actually getting along like this," he told himself.

"Toph!" Her father called out and Kite rose to his feet.

Xin Fu turned around to see Sokka, Katara, and Master Yu standing with Toph's father. Rei stood beside Katara, growling at the men with her eyes burning holes into the Earth Rumble fighters.

"Here's your money, now let them go," Sokka ordered as he dropped the sack of coins and Master Yu sent it sliding over to the pair.

Xin Fu picked it up and counted the pieces, then motioned for Toph's box to be lowered and the Boulder opened it up. Kite dropped down with Toph in his arms and he walked over to the group while shooting a glare at Xin Fu. The young fighter stopped in front of the group, only to set Toph down on the floor close to her father and Master Yu.

She turned for a moment to stare in his direction before walking off with Yu and her father. Kite turned and Rei jumped up onto his shoulder and licked his face in happiness while Katara glared at Xin Fu.

"What about Aang?" Katara asked as Xin Fu pulled out a white scroll.

"I think the Fire Nation will pay a hefty price for the Avatar alive, now, get out of my ring," Xin Fu countered while glaring back at the group.

Katara reached for flask as Sokka reached for his machete while Rei jumped down onto the stairs. A sand twister blew towards them and vanished to reveal Fire Nation Min with his arms out in position to strike. The Gecko dropped down from the ceiling with a loud thud as the Hippo crushed a boulder against his chest. The last masked fighter and the tunneling Earthbender appeared while the two siblings stared at the odds. Kite cracked his knuckles and stepped forward yet Aang shook his head.

"Go, I'll be okay guys, I promise," Aang assured them.

The trio quickly ran downstairs into the pit as Toph walked through the tunnel with her father and Master Yu. Rei looked over to Kite who quickly stopped at the tunnel entrance causing Toph to stop as well.

"Toph, there's too many of them for us to fight, we need an Earthbender," Katara told her. "We need you!"

Toph turned with her father who glared at the group. "My daughter is blind. She is blind, and tiny, and helpless, and fragile! She cannot help you!" he shouted and Toph pulled her wrist out of his hand.

"Yes, I can help them," Toph said and walked towards Kite as he looked from her up to her father.

"She's a lot stronger than you think she is," Kite stated and they began to walked back to the ring. He paused for a moment to turn back to Toph's father and frowned at him before he followed the others up the steps.

The Earth Rumble fighters were heading off stage when a large rock shot up, blocking them off from leaving. They all turned around to see Sokka and Katara with Rei on her shoulder, standing behind Toph and Kite, both fighters glaring at their opponents without worry.

"Let him go," Toph ordered as Kite stood beside. "I beat you all before, and I can do it again!"

"The Boulder takes issue with that comment," the Boulder stated and Kite rolled his eyes.

"Suck it up Pebble, I've been itching to shut you up for a while now," Kite said as he cracked his knuckles.

The Hippo tossed Aang's box off to the side while Sokka and Katara began to walk forward only for Toph to hold out her arms in front of them. All the Earth Rumble fighters began to charge at them while Toph listened to their footsteps, and then turned her head to Kite.

"They're mine," Toph whispered and turned back to the fighters.

"I want to finish my fight with the gopher man," Kite added as Toph narrowed her eyes. "Stop me if you want to,"

Toph smirked and stomped her foot on the ground then turned her head as she began lifting up her arms while shaking them slightly. The ring began to shake as the fighters got closer and closer to them. With a sudden stomp, Toph brought her arms in and a large dust wave rolled forward, knocking the fighters back and onto the tile floor, hard. Kite smirked as Toph walked into the dust cloud, and then he followed in after her while Master Yu and Toph's father watched in horror from the stands.

Fire Nation Min looked around the dust cloud while swinging his arms to clear away the dust from his view and found Toph standing off to his side. He turned his body along with his foot as Toph smirked and he bent a small blast of rock at her, only for Toph to sidestep out of the way and knock him out of the ring with a wave of rock.

Master Yu and her father watched in amazement as Fire Nation Min flew through the air and landed on the ground with a moan. On the boundary line of the dust cloud, Katara and Sokka were working hard to free Aang from his metal prison with Rei still on Katara's shoulder.

"Hit it harder Sokka," Aang encouraged the older boy.

"I'm already hitting it as hard as I can!" Sokka replied while Katara tried to pull the bottom open as Rei gave small yips of encouragement.

The Gecko looked around as he crawled through the dust cloud, only to pause when a small rock hit his head. He quickly turned around to find Toph smirking at him causing him to glare at her. He jumped up into the air with two boulders in hand and tossed them at Toph, but she caught them both and tossed them aside. Toph kicked her heel against the tile floor four times, and each pillar bounced the Gecko further and further out of the ring until he flew out of the ring and landed on Fire Nation Min.

Kite glared at the Gopher as he tried to hit him with an under-to-above ground rock attack, barely managing to avoid the punch with a quick side-step. The Gopher smirked as he surfaced near Kite to deliver a hard blow to his lowered guard with a large rock in hand. He was caught by surprise when Kite moved out of the way again, and he struck out with a sudden right cross to the Gopher's jaw. He followed up the cross with a hard left punch and a right punch combo to his chest along with a strong jab-cross combo to his face, knocking the Gopher back with each blow he landed. Kite quickly fired off a powerful right straight into the Gopher's face and then twisted his torso quickly in a wind up, and then back kicked the man straight in the chest with all of his might, sending him flying out of the ring and onto the growing pile of Earth Rumble fighters.

Sokka and Katara finally managed to free Aang who jumped out, ready to fight but Sokka stopped him. He shook his head and pointed to the dust cloud as the Hippo came out swinging a large coin shaped disk followed by a the Boulder flying out of the cloud onto his back.

Toph came out with her hands cupped upwards as Kite walked out of the dust cloud with a proud smile on his face. Her father bit his nails in horror as the Boulder jumped up to his feet and bent up a rock, while the second masked fighter came swinging in on a rope with a boulder in hand. With a quick step and flick of the wrists downwards, Toph began to turn the coin shaped circle a full quarter. Once it stopped, the rope swinging man crashed into the Boulder and the Hippo, forming a new pile while Kite walked back over to the group.

"I never knew…your daughter is amazing," Master Yu told Toph's father who watched with great interest at Kite and Toph's actions.

Toph lifted her hands up, turned them, and then threw them down causing the dust cloud to blow away to reveal Xin Fu standing across from her. Kite looked over at Toph as she spat onto the ground while Xin Fu cracked his neck and got into his stance. He smirked and simply stepped back and watched with Aang and the others, leaving the two Earthbenders to face each other alone.

They slowly encircled each other, waiting for the other Earthbender to make their move as everyone watched in anticipation and fear. Xin Fu struck first, bending up rock after rock and kicking them towards Toph with incredible speed. He stopped firing and waited as the rocks closed in on her only for Toph to move her arms, bending up a pyramid like shield in front of her in time to deflect each rock. Toph listened as the barrage came to a close and with a single thrust, fired one part of her shield straight at Xin Fu who jumped out of the way and reached into the tile floor. She felt the vibrations as he scooped up a small rock and side stepped right as Xin Fu threw the rock, allowing the projectile to pass by her face without even touching her hair. With a quick burst of speed, Toph turned back and threw her hand forward, sending Xin Fu flying out of the arena and into the stands between Yu and her father.

Sokka's jaw dropped in shock while Aang and Katara smiled in awe at Toph's victory. Kite grinned and walked over to her with Aang and Katara in the lead as Sokka fainted.

"She is the greatest Earthbender I have ever seen in my life!" Yu announced as Toph's father looked at his daughter and Kite congratulate each other.

"Nice moves, for a Boxer," Toph teased as Kite smiled.

"Good job, for an Earthbender," Kite fired back, and the two broke out into laughter while the defeated Earthbending Fighters moaned in pain. The journey back to the Bei Fong estate was made quickly as Toph had something to tell her parents immediately...

**********

**Gaoling, Bei Fong Estate**

"I know it's hard for both of you to see me like this, but the obedient little helpless blind girl that you think I am just isn't me," Toph explained to her parents while Kite stood leaning up against the wall while the others sat down in chairs. "I love fighting, I love being an Earthbender, and I'm really, really good at it. I know I've kept my Earthbending secret from you, but you were you keeping me secret from the world. I know you thought you were protecting me, but I'm twelve years old and I've never had a real friend."

"Her Earthbending is special," Kite added causing Toph's parents to turn to him. "She probably has no equal in Earthbending because of her blindness."

"So, now that you've seen who I really am, I hope that doesn't change the way you feel about me," Toph said and Kite gave her a gentle smile.

"Of course it doesn't Toph, in fact, it's made me realize something," Her father replied.

"It has?" Toph asked her father.

He nodded his head and Toph smiled at him. "Yes, I have given you far too much freedom," He replied and Toph's smiled vanished. "From now on you will be cared for and guarded twenty four hours a day!" he stated as the group stared at him in disbelief.

"But dad-," Toph cried out.

"We're doing this for your own good Toph, please try to understand that," her mother explained as Kite balled his hands up.

"Please escort the Avatar and his friends out," Her father instructed the servant. "They are no longer welcome here in my house, especially the boxer,"

The group walked out except for Kite who remained standing near Toph as a pair of guards entered. Aang glanced back at Toph and felt a twinge of sadness for her punishment.

"I'm sorry Toph," Aang whispered as he left with Sokka and Katara.

"I'm sorry too," Toph told the group as they exited.

Kite glared at the guards and they stepped back as he slowly pushed off against the wall. He looked over to Toph with sadness in his eyes and watched as the tears trickled down her face. One of the guards tried to place his hand on Kite's shoulder but his friend stopped him and shook his head. The young fighter walked over to Toph and Kite flashed a glare at her father before turning back to Toph.

He lowered his gaze as tears ran down his face and he sent one last glare at Toph's father. "You're the one who's blind, not her," Kite harshly said before turning back to the blind Earthbender. "I wish we could have had that fight I promised," he weakly said before turning to the doorway. "Goodbye Toph," he whispered and walked away.

"Me too Fancy Feet," Toph whispered back as he walked out of the room. "Goodbye Kite,"

*************

The group looked down at the Bei Fong escape with Appa already ready to go. Aang stood with Katara and Kite near the cliff edge, each one frowning as they looked at the estate. Kite wiped away his tears from his eyes while Rei licked his cheek, trying to comfort him. Katara looked from Kite to Aang and did her best to comfort both of them.

"We'll find you a teacher, there are plenty of amazing Earthbenders out there, I'm sure of it," Katara told Aang.

"Not like her," Aang said as Kite nodded.

"She's one in a million…" Kite stated while Katara placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you Katara,"

Sokka and Momo were ignoring the sentimental moment as the young warrior polished his belt. Kite had refused to wear it anymore and had given it to Sokka without a second thought. The trio took one last look at the Bei Fong estate before walking over to Appa and got on, with the exception of Kite. He closed his eyes and began to be lifted up by Appa's tail when Rei suddenly gave a short, whining bark.

Aang was already turning around when Kite followed suit and his eyes widened in disbelief. He blinked a few times and was overjoyed to see Toph running up to them in her Blind Bandit outfit.

"Toph you're here!" Kite exclaimed as Rei jumped off his shoulder onto Toph's.

"Toph, what are you doing here?" Aang asked her.

She giggled as the little vixen licked her cheek happily causing Kite to grin. "My dad suddenly changed his mind," Toph explained. "He said I was free to do what I want and to travel the world," she added with a smile.

"Well then, we'd better get out of here," Sokka suggested aloud. "Before you dad changes his mind again,"

"Too bad for him, she's here with us now and that's all that matters," Kite stated proudly.

"Right," Toph said to Kite who smiled at her.

"I have a feeling you'll be a great teacher Toph," Aang told her.

Toph smirked while Rei set down on her shoulder. "Speaking of which, I want to show you and Kite something," she said.

"Okay," Aang replied and jumped down.

"What's the sur-?" Kite started to say as he landed on the ground.

Toph kicked her heel against the ground twice and both Aang and Kite were sent up into the air. Aang landed in a tree and dangled by his legs while Kite crashed down into a bush with a groan. He smiled through the pain as Toph extended her hand up to Sokka and Katara with a smile.

"I'll be taking my belt back now," Toph said to Sokka.

Sokka frowned as he removed the belt and tossed it down to Toph. The belt collided with Toph, knocking her onto the ground and sending Rei clinging onto Appa's fur.

"Ow!"

"Oops, sorry," Sokka apologized to Toph.

He screamed when Rei jumped up, knocked him onto his back with a growl and began angrily attacking him with her small claws. Aang fell out of the tree while Kite tripped over a root and fell flat onto his face in laughter at Sokka.

************

**Gaoling, Bei Fong Estates**

"I know you two are very different from each other, but I believe you have a common interest…"

Two sets of eyes widened at the sight of the box of gold before them. Both of them looked from the gold to each other and silently agreed together.

"The Avatar and his friend, the Boxer, have kidnapped my daughter. I want you to do whatever it takes to bring her back home and the Boxer to me as well," the two sets of eyes looked at the third. "That boy has some answers I need..."

* * *

_Next time….._

_ Avatar: Nexus, Chapter 4: The Chase_

_Preview: The group has three new additions from Gaoling, Kite Ravine, the boxer from the Nexus, Toph Bei Fong, the blind Earthbender from Aang's dream, and Rei, the young knowledge seeker vixen. Together with Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Appa, they head out from Gaoling, unaware of the dangers on their tails, and the dormant potential that is beginning to awaken within the young boy from the Nexus…_

Sorry if it took a while, I had to wait till I had Chapter 8 almost finished before I decided to finish it after this is uploaded.

R and R please, and I will do the same in return. Thank you!


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